License plate frame

ABSTRACT

License plate frames having recessed areas in the frame surface which form characters, words, and/or graphics, and having an adhered layer of material of contrasting color on the frame surface.

The present application is a continuation of pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/857,064, filed May 28, 2004 and entitled“LICENSE PLATE FRAME,” the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Decorative license plate frames, in particular those for automobilelicense plates, frequently include words or decorative symbols on theirsurfaces. For example, automobile dealerships often include their nameson license plate frames as a form of advertisement. One method offorming words or symbols on a frame surface is to screen print them on aflat surface of a molded frame. Words can also be bonded or otherwiseattached to a surface of a frame. A further method of forming words on alicense plate frame is to integrally mold them on the surface of aplastic frame. Letters formed in this way are raised above a flatsurface of the frame, and a layer of contrasting colored material isapplied to the letters' raised surface.

These methods of forming characters in a license plate frame, however,suffer from several drawbacks. Screen printed lettering, for example,lacks the visual depth of a raised letter. Raised lettering, however, issubject both to fading due to sun exposure as well as to physical wear.Bonded lettering is subject to the strength and durability of theadhesive or other means used to attach the lettering to a frame, andsuch lettering may become detached from the frame over time.

SUMMARY

The license plate frames described herein overcome the drawbacks ofprior license plate frames through the use of recessed areas in a framesurface and an adhered layer of material having a contrasting color. Thepresent frames for a vehicle license plate include a substrate having asubstantially planar surface, a contrast layer adhered to this surfacewhich has a contrasting color compared with the color of the surface,and one or more recessed portions in the substrate. The frames arepreferably made from a plastic material having a thickness of betweenabout 120 and about 135 thousandths of an inch, and the recessedportions in the substrate are preferably about 50 thousandths of an inchdeep. The recessed portions meet the surface of the substrate at asubstantially non-radiused edge and form or highlight one or morecharacters in the frame. The recessed portions can form complete lettersor other characters, or can in addition include a contrasting portion toform part of a character. Such a contrasting portion has an uppersurface which is substantially coplanar with the substantially planarsurface of the substrate, and the contrast layer is adhered to thissurface. The contrasting portion can alternatively form a completecharacter, in which case the recessed portion provides a contrastingbackground for the character.

Such frames can be made by forming a frame body having a substantiallyplanar surface and at least one character formed by a recessed surfacein the frame body, and then adhering a contrast layer to thesubstantially planar surface of the frame body and not to the recessedsurface. The frame body has a first color, and the contrast layer has asecond color that contrasts with the first. Preferably, at least onerecessed surface forms a complete letter or other character. Thecontrast layer can be adhered through the use of a hot stamp foil. Atransfer surface of the hot stamp foil comprising a layer of coloredmaterial is placed onto the substantially planar surface of the framebody, after which heat and pressure are applied to a working surface(the other side) of the hot stamp foil, thereby forming the layer ofcolored material on the substantially planar surface of the frame body.The recessed surface and the substantially planar surface preferablymeet at a substantially non-radiused edge in order to facilitate removalof the hot stamp foil from the surface of the frame.

In an alternative to this method, a character can be formed by a raisedsurface present in a recessed surface of the frame body. The raisedsurface is substantially coplanar with the substantially planar surfaceof the frame body, and the contrast layer is formed on this raisedsurface at the same time as on the substantially planar surface. Therecessed surface in this embodiment can serve as a background to acharacter formed by the raised surface, or alternatively the raisedservice can help to form a character outlined by the recessed surface.

DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying figures where:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a frame having recessed characters.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the frame of FIG. 1 along line 2-2.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a frame having raised characters surrounded byrecessed areas of the frame.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the frame of FIG. 3 along line 4-4.

All dimensions specified in this disclosure are by way of example onlyand are not intended to be limiting. Further, the proportions shown inthese Figures are not necessarily to scale. As will be understood bythose with skill in the art with reference to this disclosure, theactual dimensions of any device or part of a device disclosed in thisdisclosure will be determined by their intended use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The vehicle license plate frames described herein provide an improvedcombination of surface features and character display features comparedwith prior frames. The present frames 10, for example, comprisecharacters 20 formed in recessed areas 14 of a frame body 12 which arenot subject to as much wear or exposure to the elements compared withraised lettering on a frame. The frame body 12, for supporting orcontaining a vehicle license plate, comprises a substrate 13 having asubstantially planar outer surface 15. Recessed portions 14 in the framebody 12 are molded, cut, or otherwise formed in the substrate 13. Asused herein, “recessed portion” refers to an area of the frame body 12having a surface which extends below the plane of the substantiallyplanar surface 15 of the substrate 13, i.e. away from the substantiallyplanar surface 15 in the direction of the rear surface of the frame 10.

The recessed portions 14 of the frame 10 and the substantially planarsurface 15 of the substrate 13 meet and are joined at an edge 17 of thesubstantially planar surface 15. The wall or walls 18 defining therecessed portion 14 extend away from this edge 17, preferably at anangle of less than about 90 degrees from the substrate surface 15, suchas an angle of about 85 degrees, though walls extending at a less steepangle are also practicable with an injection molded frame. In apreferred embodiment, a recessed portion 14 includes a base 19comprising a surface in the recessed portion 14 connected to the walls18. The base 19 can preferably be planar and parallel to thesubstantially planar outer surface 15.

The material of the frame body 12, which is preferably monochromatic,has a first color. The recessed portions 14 formed in the frame body 12thus have this first color. The frame body 12 further includes a layerof material 16 adhered to the substantially planar surface 15 which hasa second color that contrasts with the first color of the frame body 12.The term “contrast” and variations thereof is used herein to refer tocolors which can be distinguished by an average human observer with goodvision (i.e., approximately 20/20 vision, with or without correction) inmid-day outdoor lighting conditions when placed side by side with eachother. The term “colors” refers to any hue in the visible spectrum andincludes black, white, and gray, as well as various finishes such asmatte, glossy, and metallic. Contrast generally increases with increaseddifference in color wavelengths. For example, red color having awavelength of 700 nanometers generally contrasts more with yellow havinga wavelength of 580 nanometers than with orange having a wavelength of620 nanometers. When the contrasting colors are black, white and/orgray, contrast can be measured as the difference in brightness betweenthe lightest and darkest shades.

The edge 17 joining the recessed portions 14 and the substantiallyplanar surface 15 of the substrate 13 is substantially non-radiused,i.e. is a sharp edge. When a contrast layer 16 is applied to the frame10 from a transfer sheet comprising an ink or other coloring agent, suchas a hot stamp foil, and the transfer sheet is subsequently removed fromthe surface 15 of the frame, the use of a substantially non-radiusededge results in a clean separation between the coloring agent adhered tothe frame 10 and the coloring agent remaining on the transfer sheet. Theresulting outer edge 11 of the contrast layer 16 is thereby given agenerally smooth appearance. The edges 17, if they are slightly radiused(for example, due to manufacturing tolerances and variations), shouldhave a radius which is less than the depth of the recessed portion 14,that is, the distance from the plane of the substantially planar surface15 to the base 19 of the recessed portion 14. Preferably the radius isless than half of this depth, and more preferably less than a tenth ofthis depth.

The characters 20 of the frame can be formed by recessed portions 14 inthe substrate 13 of the frame 10. As used herein, the term “character”refers to any number, letter, punctuation mark, picture or other symbolor graphic image that can be formed by a recess in the surface of theframe body 12 and the contrast layer 16. A character 20 can be formedcompletely by the recessed portion 14, or a further contrasting portion24 that borders or falls within the recessed portion 14 can be used inaddition to form a character 20, as described below.

In one embodiment, the frame 10 includes one or more discontinuousrecessed portions 14, and the recessed portions 14 form either theentire character 20 or at least a portion of the character 20. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1, a complete character 20 depicting theletter “L” (in the word DEALER) can be formed entirely from a recessedportion 14, i.e., the boundaries of the letter comprise the boundariesbetween the recessed portion 14 and the surface of the frame substrate13.

For some characters 20, however, a contrasting portion 24 within thecharacter 20 is needed in order to form the character 20. For example,in order to form the letter “A” as shown in FIG. 1, a small contrastingportion 24 within the recessed portion forming the letter is required,i.e. the roughly triangular segment 22, in order to form the recessedcrossbar 23 of the letter. In order to form such a contrasting portion24 within the recessed portion 14 of the character 20, the contrastingportion 24 includes a character upper surface 26 which is substantiallycoplanar with the surface 15 of the substrate 13. In this way, the samecontrast layer 16 adhered to the substrate 13 can likewise be adhered tothe character upper surface 26.

In an alternative embodiment, the contrasting portion 24 forms acomplete character 20. For example, the characters 20 shown in FIG. 3comprise a character upper surface 26 overlayed by a contrast layer 16(as shown in FIG. 4). In this embodiment, the contrasting portion 24which forms a character 20 can be entirely within a recessed portion 14as shown in FIG. 3, or alternatively the character 20 can be joined tothe substrate 13 by a joining portion (not illustrated). The recessedportion 14 in this embodiment thus forms a background which highlightsthe characters 20 formed by the contrasting portion 24.

Frames are designed to provide support to the license plates with whichthey are used and are generally attached to the license plates and/or tothe vehicles for which the license plates are issued. For example, theframe 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes screw holes 30 for receiving screws(not shown). In order to mount the frame 10 and a license plate, thescrews are placed through screw holes 30 and then through correspondingholes provided in the license plate. The frame 10 and license plate canthen be placed together onto the surface of a vehicle having twocorresponding holes for receiving the screws. The screws are then linedup with the holes in the vehicle and rotated in order to screw them intothe vehicle holes.

Frames 10 can have two holes 30 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, oralternatively can be provided with further holes for engaging screws orother mounting means (or even with only one hole). Four-hole automobilelicense plates and frames are commonly used. Other ways of securing aframe 10 and license plate to a vehicle can also be employed, though itis preferred that the frame 10 and license plate be removably secured toa vehicle (as is the case when screws are used).

The rear surface (not shown) of the frame 10 is in contact with thefront surface (i.e. the surface designed to be viewed) of a licenseplate when the frame 10 and license plate are secured to a vehicle. Therear surface can have attached thereto clips, hooks, or other means forfurther securing the license plate to the frame 10. Additionally oralternatively, a lip (not shown) extending away from the front surfaceof the frame 10 can be provided along the periphery of the frame 10 inorder to help retain a license plate.

To form a frame 10 as described herein, a frame body 12 is formed from asuitable material, such as plastic, i.e. a synthetic or semisyntheticpolymer material that can be molded or extruded into objects.Preferably, a plastic material such as high impact polystyrene or ABS isused, and the frame body 12 is injection molded. A minimum wallthickness on the frame 10 of 0.075 inch to 0.100 inch is preferablymaintained to achieve optimum filling of the mold during the injectionmolding process and to minimize the tendency of the molded part to warp.

In this embodiment, the face of the frame body 12 carrying thecharacters 20 to be displayed preferably has a thickness (“t” in FIGS. 2and 4) of between about 120 and 135 thousandths of an inch. While theuse of a substrate 13 having a lesser thickness is possible, this rangehas been found to produce a desireable visual quality in the recessedcharacters 20. Recessed portions 14 formed in frames 10 of thisthickness are preferably about 50 thousandths of an inch deep, i.e. thebase 19 of such a recessed portion 14 is about 50 thousandths of an inchfrom the plane of the substantially planar surface 15 of the substrate13. Any characters 20 formed within such a recessed portion 14 thuspreferably rise approximately 50 thousandths of an inch high from thebase 19 of the recessed portion 14, so that the character upper surface26 is substantially coplanar with the surface 15 of the frame substrate13. The characters 20 of the frame 10 are preferably formed togetherwith (e.g., integrally molded with) the rest of the frame body 12,though they could also be formed afterward by cutting into the framebody 12, such as by machine cutting.

In order to apply the contrast layer 16 to the substrate surface 15 andany character upper surfaces 26, a hot stamp foil is preferably broughtinto contact with these surfaces. As used herein, a “hot stamp foil”refers to a transfer sheet comprising an ink or other coloring agent ina hot melting type adhesive layer of the transfer sheet, as is known inthe art. The use of multiple coloring agents can allow an image to beformed in the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer itself is formed on atransfer surface of the transfer sheet, with the opposite surface of thetransfer sheet comprising a working surface capable of withstanding theheat and pressure required to transfer the adhesive layer to anothersurface, and capable of transferring sufficient heat through thetransfer sheet for this purpose.

In order to form a contrast layer 16 on the surface 15 of a frame body12, the transfer surface of the hot stamp foil is placed in contact withthe substantially planar substrate surface 15, and the working surfaceof the hot stamp foil is contacted by a heated surface of approximately400 degrees Fahrenheit which is also capable of applying pressure, suchas a roller or a hydraulic press. Pressure of up to four tons is appliedto the working surface for several seconds, after which the hot stampfoil is pulled away from the frame 10, leaving a layer of coloredmaterial 16 from the transfer surface of the hot stamp foil adhered tothe frame 10. When the edges 17 between the recessed portions of theframe surface and the substantially planar portion of the frame surfaceare sharp edges, the edges of the contrast layer are clean, i.e. theyconform to the edges 17 of the characters 20.

The contrast layer 16 formed by such colored material should have acolor which contrasts with the color of the substrate 13, so that acharacter 20 formed in or by a recessed surface 14 in the substrate 13can be distinguished by a viewer. In one embodiment, the substrate 13 isblack, and the contrast layer has a metallic color, such as chrome,silver, or gold. Preferably, the hot stamp foil has a surface areasufficient to cover all of the substantially planar surface 13 of theframe body 12.

The hot stamp foil and the coloring agent used in the hot stamp foil canbe any of a number of different foils and coloring agents known to theart. For example, mylar foil containing a silicone dye can be used.Preferably, a hot stamp foil which creates a metallic appearance on thesurface of the frame, such as the brushed chrome foil made by ITW Foils(5 Malcolm Hout Drive, Newburyport, Mass. 01950), is used.

Although the use of a hot stamp foil to transfer a colored layer to aframe 10 is preferred, other methods of producing the contrast layer 16on the frame surface 15 can be used. The contrast layer 16 shouldgenerally comprise an adhesive substance and a coloring agent. Theadhesive substance is one capable of holding materials together bysurface attachment. Laminating, the use of cold stamp foils, and othermethods for creating a colored surface can also be employed to producethe contrast layer 16.

EXAMPLE 1 Frame with Characters Formed by Recessed Portions

A frame for an automobile license plate having characters formed by therecessed portions of the frame, such as the Edge FX frame (manufacturedby Perrin Manufacturing Co., 1020 Bixby Drive, Industry, Calif.91745-1703), was formed. The frame body was approximately 120thousandths of an inch thick and was rectangular, having two shorterparallel sides approximately 6 inches in length and two longer parallelsides approximately 12 inches in length. Recessed letters similar tothose shown in FIG. 1 were formed in the front surface of one of thelonger sides in order to form the word PRINCETON, while the word RUGBYwas formed in the other long side with such recessed letters. The frontsurface was about ½ wide along the shorter sides and between 5/8 of aninch and 1 inch wide along the longer sides, the width being such as tocover the edges of a license plate placed in the frame. Four holes forretaining screws were formed, two in each of the longer sides.

Adhered to the front surface of the frame was a layer of metalliccolored material transferred by a hot stamp foil technique from abrushed chrome foil made by ITW Foils. The edges between the recessedareas of the frame surface and the substantially planar front surfacewere sharp, and the walls forming the recessed areas extended away fromthe front surface of the frame at approximately an 85 degree angle.These walls extended approximately 50 thousandths of an inch from thefront surface of the frame before reaching a lower surface roughlyparallel with the front surface of the frame. The frame substrate wasblack in color, so the layer of chrome-colored material contrasted withthe black-colored recessed letters.

A lip was formed around the outer periphery of the frame body whichextended toward the rear surface of the frame at approximately a 90degree angle to the front surface of the frame. The lip extendedapproximately 5/16 of an inch from the front surface and wasapproximately ⅛ of an inch thick. Two retainer clips were formed in thelip along the longer side which comprised the word RUGBY in order tohelp retain a license plate.

EXAMPLE 2 Frame with Characters Formed within a Recessed Portion

A frame having characters formed within the recessed portions of theframe, such as the Panel FX frame (manufactured by Perrin ManufacturingCo., 1020 Bixby Drive, Industry, Calif. 91745-1703), was formed. Theframe was identical to the frame of Example 1, except that raisedletters similar to those shown in FIG. 3 (rather than recessed letters)were formed in one of the longer sides of the frame in order to form theword “Panel Fx”, while the words “Put Your Name Here” were formed in theother long side with such letters. The recessed portion of the frontsurface of the frame formed a black background which provided contrastto the chrome-colored letters.

EXAMPLE 3 Manufacturing a Frame

A frame body as described in Example 1 was injection molded from impactpolystyrene with an overall nominal wall thickness of 0.135″ and aminimum wall thickness in the lettering of 0.085″ to facilitate thefilling of the part and minimize warping. A roll of brushed chrome foilmade by ITW Foils was unrolled so as to expose an unused portion of thefoil, and the transfer surface (i.e., the surface containing the coloredadhesive material) was placed into contact with the substantially planarfront surface of the frame. A heated platen at 400 degrees Fahrenheitwas pressed against the opposite surface of the hot stamp foil for 2seconds. The foil was then pulled away from the frame, leaving the frontsurface covered by a layer of chrome-colored adhesive material. Theframe and adhesive layer were allowed to cool for 3 seconds in order toallow the adhesive layer to harden on the frame.

Although the present invention has been discussed in considerable detailwith reference to certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments arepossible. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not belimited to the description of preferred embodiments contained in thisdisclosure. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference totheir entirety.

1. A frame for a vehicle license plate, comprising: (a) a substratehaving a substantially planar surface and having a first color; (b) acontrast layer comprising a coloring agent having a second color and anadhesive selected from the group consisting of a cold foil type adhesiveand a hot melting type adhesive, the contrast layer being adhered to thesubstantially planar surface of the substrate, wherein the second colorcontrasts with the first color; and (c) one or more recessed portions inthe substrate comprising one or more characters.
 2. The frame of claim1, wherein at least one recessed portion forms a complete character. 3.The frame of claim 1, wherein at least one of the characters formed inthe substrate comprises a contrasting portion having a character uppersurface which is substantially coplanar with the substantially planarsurface of the substrate, and wherein the contrast layer is adhered tothe character upper surface.
 4. The frame of claim 3, wherein thecontrasting portion forms a complete character.
 5. The frame of claim 3,wherein the contrasting portion is entirely within a recessed portion.6. The frame of claim 1, wherein the substrate is a plastic materialhaving a thickness of between about 120 and about 135 thousandths of aninch.
 7. The frame of claim 6, wherein the recessed portions areapproximately 50 thousandths of an inch deep.
 8. The frame of claim 1,wherein the recessed portions and the substantially planar surface ofthe substrate meet at a substantially non-radiused edge.
 9. The frame ofclaim 1, wherein the frame is black and the contrast layer is metallicin color.
 10. The frame of claim 1, wherein the contrast layer comprisesmultiple coloring agents.
 11. The frame of claim 10, wherein themultiple coloring agents form an image.
 12. (canceled)
 13. A method offorming a vehicle license plate frame, comprising the steps of: (a)forming a frame body having a first color, wherein the frame bodycomprises a substantially planar surface and at least one characterintegrally molded with the frame body; and (b) adhering a contrast layercomprising an adhesive substance and a coloring agent having a secondcolor to the substantially planar surface of the frame body and not tothe character, wherein the second color contrasts with the first color.14. The method of claim 13, wherein step (b) further comprises the stepsof: (i) providing a hot stamp foil having a transfer surface and aworking surface, the transfer surface comprising a layer of coloredmaterial; (ii) placing the transfer surface of the hot stamp foil ontothe substantially planar surface; and (iii) applying heat and pressureto the working surface of the hot stamp foil, thereby forming the layerof colored material on the substantially planar surface of the framebody.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the hot stamp foil has asurface area sufficient to cover the substantially planar surface of theframe body.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the adhesive is a coldfoil type adhesive.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the contrastlayer is metallic in color.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein thecontrast layer comprises multiple coloring agents.
 19. A method offorming a vehicle license plate frame, comprising the steps of: (a)forming a frame body having a rear surface, a front surface, and a firstcolor, wherein the front surface has a substantially planar section andat least one character integrally molded with the frame body, whereinthe distance between the rear surface and the character is differentthan the distance between the rear surface and the substantially planarsection; and (b) adhering a contrast layer comprising an adhesivesubstance and a coloring agent having a second color to thesubstantially planar section of the front surface of the frame body andnot to the character, wherein the second color contrasts with the firstcolor.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the adhesive substance isselected from the group consisting of a cold foil type adhesive and ahot melting type adhesive.